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Friday, September 7, 2012

The Humanity of Justice by Burke E Strunsky

I have to
start out by saying that this is in no way a book for the faint of
heart, anybody who can not stomach true horror, at it's worse, should
definitely not read this book. If you are a CSI, or Law and Order fan,
or any other type of true crime, or law shows, movies, or books, or law
and The United States justice system, this is a book you will not
forget.
Burke E Strunsky, is a senior deputy district attorney, in
California, who has witnessed an actual crime, and has seen inside the
horrific minds of mankind. On every level. I believe that if I were to
take up a career as a criminal attorney, and I read this book, I may be
thinking twice about my choices.
Burke, takes you deep down in the
sick and twisted lives and crimes of some of the most despicable acts
known to man. There are some certain warnings you should heed before
picking up this book. Mainly the fact that most of the heinous crimes
involve children, and since Burke E Strunsky has been in the courtroom
and witnessed these first hand, you will be reading first hand accounts
and he doesn't seem to leave much detail out. A lot of this may tend to
be unsettling, however, the purpose of this book isn't to necessarily
make you ill, as it is to make you aware of our justice system, and how
"humanlike" it really is, hence, not being perfect.
Along with lots
of footnotes, (my favorite!), and facts and the author's experience,
there is lot to learn from this book, a lot to take in, so it will not
be one of those, "read in a couple hours" type of books. It is written
very, very well, to well I thought at some times. But, then I just
reminded myself that the author is an attorney and is very well versed
in this type of genre.
We see so many criminal cases in the news,
attorneys that we sometimes might tend to wonder, "What in the world
ever possessed them to take such a case??" Even though we know deep
down, somebody has to do it. But while reading this book, I realized
that this courageous attorney actually gets several things accomplished.
One of which, at least to me, was that he created the book in such a
way that make us realize how human attorneys, and the justice system
are. I would have to say that this became very apparent during the first
few pages of the book, which was actually very funny, to say the least!
From
there he just jumps right in and starts the reader on a journey that
may make your stomach turn at times, but still keeps you turning each
page just to catch a glimpse of what is coming next.
I believe the
most interesting to me was how he and his then, girlfriend, were
witnesses to a shooting, and how our minds play tricks on us. Even for 2
firsthand witness accounts, 1 of them being an attorney, neither were
able to positively identify the shooter, or even the actual gun he was
using. Which then is explained more further, and you realize that many
people have been found guilty of crimes they never committed, simply
because somebody, "thought" they saw something. Not that we as human
beings, try to come up with fake descriptions, or distort facts, but
when that we tend to think we saw things that we didn't really see.
Especially when it happens during some sort of trauma.
He describes
at great length, different cases, how he was affected, and does an
outstanding job with recounts of the court room. There will be a lot
that hit home, especially when the victims are children.
Burke E
Strunsky, donates 100% of the proceeds to The Humanity of Justice
Foundation, a non profit organization to help prevent child abuse and
neglect.
Each page of this book struck a chord with me, and I would
love to read more by this author. I am hoping he writes a few more,
maybe touching on other types of cases as well. This could make for a
very interesting and haunting series!
I recommend this book to
anybody who does enjoy learning about our justice system, the courts,
and cases and of course, the attorneys perspective.